The 5 big hurdles on the GOP calendar

This is infrastructure week, according to the White House, which rolled out a series of ideas on Monday. But the problem is, it’s not clear exactly when the Senate will have health care week. Or the House or Senate get tax reform week.

A health care bill was supposed to get through the House and the Senate by mid-March. Instead, the House narrowly passed its bill in May, and the Senate is hoping to get a vote in before August. (Or maybe as early as July.)

That’s just one of the issues that will create a calendar crunch. Here are five legislative jams looming ahead for the GOP:

Health care: Republicans now hope to have health care passed through the Senate by July 4, though they admit that’s a very ambitious timeline. But even if a bill gets a majority of the votes in the Senate, there are still big questions about how and if the Senate and House could agree on a final version. That would take several more weeks, or possibly even months. One important date to keep in mind in the health care fight: Sept. 30. Republicans must pass a bill by the end of the fiscal year in order to use the budget reconciliation process and also avoid a filibuster attempt by Democrats.

Tax reform: The House hoped to have a tax bill ready for debate by now, putting a vote on the floor by July 4. Now all Republicans are hoping is to finalize legislation by July 4, and the most realistic expectation for a vote is sometime after August.

Infrastructure: The White House may have focused on the issue this week. But infrastructure is not on Congress’ mental calendar yet. Instead, it’s more like a wish-list item that must wait in the wings until health care and tax reform are resolved.

Debt ceiling: The nation’s debt level is quickly reaching its ceiling. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has warned Congress it may need to act before August.

Funding government: And, yes, we are again within months of another government funding showdown. Current funding runs out Sept. 30, and many Republicans are hoping to enact spending cuts, which could complicate the process.

Left:
House Speaker Paul Ryan holds a news conference after Republicans pulled the American Health Care Act bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, prior to a vote at the U.S. Capitol on March 24. Photo by Jonathan Ernst/ Reuters

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Lisa Desjardins is a correspondent for PBS NewsHour, where she covers news from the U.S. Capitol while also traveling across the country to report on how decisions in Washington affect people where they live and work.